Il Mississippi è
l'ultimo stato a
l'ultimo stato a
ratificare il 13°
emendamento
contro la schiavitù
emendamento
contro la schiavitù
(con un po' di ritardo!)
A middle-aged recent immigrant from India recently set into
motion a series of events that eventually led to Mississippi
finally ratifying the Constitutional amendment banning
slavery. The rousing finale of the movie Lincoln served as
inspiration. It sounds like a joke, but it's true. And even
though it's been nearly 150 years since that fateful day in the
Capitol in 1864, Mississippi's becoming the final state to
officially ratify the Thirteenth Amendment serves as the final
punctuation mark on a dark chapter in American history.
motion a series of events that eventually led to Mississippi
finally ratifying the Constitutional amendment banning
slavery. The rousing finale of the movie Lincoln served as
inspiration. It sounds like a joke, but it's true. And even
though it's been nearly 150 years since that fateful day in the
Capitol in 1864, Mississippi's becoming the final state to
officially ratify the Thirteenth Amendment serves as the final
punctuation mark on a dark chapter in American history.
The circumstances for Dr. Ranjan Batra almost inadvertently
inserting himself into Mississippi state history are accidental
at best. After seeing Lincoln in theaters last
November, he went home and did a little bit of Internet
research only to discover the Mississippi never got
around to actually ratifying the amendement. The
state did vote to ratify the amendment back in 1995, nearly
20 years after Kentucky, the second-to-last state to ratify the
amendment, held its vote. However, through an apparent
clerical error, Mississippi never officially notified the
United States Archivist of the ratification, meaning
that they've officially been on the side of slavery for a
century-and-a-half.
(That sounds kind of sensational when
you put it like that, but heck, you'd think the state would
double check on an issue as big as this.) Batra and his friend
Ken Sullivan reported the mistake up the chain of command,
and this month, Mississippi finally sent in the paperwork to
complete its belated ratification of the Thirteen Amendment.
inserting himself into Mississippi state history are accidental
at best. After seeing Lincoln in theaters last
November, he went home and did a little bit of Internet
research only to discover the Mississippi never got
around to actually ratifying the amendement. The
state did vote to ratify the amendment back in 1995, nearly
20 years after Kentucky, the second-to-last state to ratify the
amendment, held its vote. However, through an apparent
clerical error, Mississippi never officially notified the
United States Archivist of the ratification, meaning
that they've officially been on the side of slavery for a
century-and-a-half.
(That sounds kind of sensational when
you put it like that, but heck, you'd think the state would
double check on an issue as big as this.) Batra and his friend
Ken Sullivan reported the mistake up the chain of command,
and this month, Mississippi finally sent in the paperwork to
complete its belated ratification of the Thirteen Amendment.
When all was said and done, Mississippi state officials were
pretty humble about their government's little blunder. Said
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, whose office filed the
final papers this year, "It was long overdue."
pretty humble about their government's little blunder. Said
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, whose office filed the
final papers this year, "It was long overdue."
